The Edumacation of Jay Baker

Language: some profanity, use of the “F” word, name-callingSex: kissing, main character references masturbation and physical affects of attraction, joking references to teen pregnancyDrug/Alcohol Use: one character’s parent is an alcoholic, references to smoking marijuanaViolence: bullying, two characters get into a minor fightSocial Issues: dysfunctional family, first love, bullying, divorce, parental adultery, unrequited loveSuggested Movie Grade: PG-13

Premise: Jay Baker is your typical freshman nerd. He’s in love with his best friend, Cameo, but she’s always in love with some meat head or another. His former best friend has become his biggest enemy. And his growing feelings for new girl Caroline are returned even as she remains distant and mysterious. If all of his school problems weren’t enough, Jay’s parents have just decided to get a trial separation, but as Jay learns more about their mistakes, he fears they’re headed for the dreaded D-Bomb. Jay observes his life with a lot of hip social references and a jaded but ultimately hopeful outlook.

Potential Points of Concern:

Jay’s former best friend, Mike, constantly bullies Jay, calling him names and threatening him physically. The two get into a fight.

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But I’m Too Busy to Read Everything

Yesterday at the bookstore, my middle-school-aged daughter chose a book meant to be read by a high-school-aged person. She's mature enough to handle the advanced reading level. But she's not mature enough to handle the advanced sex, language, and social issues that the book might contain. I told her I would need to preview the book before I'd allow her to read it.

And I wished for a website that would lead me in the right direction. Some place that might offer a parent's opinion on the age appropriateness of Young Adult titles.

There may be many sites out there that offer such information. In which case, one more opinion can't hurt, right? But if there aren't easily found book review sites like this one, I hope it helps other parents who are too busy to read everything but don't feel comfortable with letting their child read something without at least an idea of what might be between the front and back covers.

This site is not a review site. My opinion about the quality of the story or writing will not be shared here. Rather, this site attempts to summarize issues of concern for parents and indicate if and how the book in question handles them. Based on my own experience, I offer a suggested age of appropriateness at the end of each entry, however this is my opinion alone and has no support from the writers or publishers of the titles reviewed.

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